Memory Cells, Integrated Devices, and Methods of Forming Memory Cells

ABSTRACT

Some embodiments include integrated devices, such as memory cells. The devices may include chalcogenide material, an electrically conductive material over the chalcogenide material, and a thermal sink between the electrically conductive material and the chalcogenide material. The thermal sink may be of a composition that includes an element in common with the electrically conductive material and includes an element in common with the chalcogenide material. Some embodiments include a method of forming a memory cell. Chalcogenide material may be formed over heater material. Electrically conductive material may be formed over the chalcogenide material. A thermal sink may be formed between the electrically conductive material and the chalcogenide material. The thermal sink may be of a composition that includes an element in common with the electrically conductive material and includes an element in common with the chalcogenide material.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Memory cells, integrated devices, and methods of forming memory cells.

BACKGROUND

Memory is one type of integrated circuitry, and is used in electronicsystems for storing data. Integrated memory is usually fabricated in oneor more arrays of individual memory cells. The memory cells areconfigured to retain or store memory in at least two differentselectable states. In a binary system, the states are considered aseither a “0” or a “1”. In other systems, at least some individual memorycells may be configured to store more than two levels or states ofinformation.

One type of memory is phase change memory (PCM). Such memory utilizesphase change material as a programmable material. Example phase changematerials that may be utilized in PCM are chalcogenide materials.

The phase change materials reversibly transform from one phase toanother through application of appropriate electrical stimulus. Eachphase may be utilized as a memory state, and thus an individual PCM cellmay have two selectable memory states that correspond to two induciblephases of the phase change material.

A problem that may occur during programming of the memory cells of a PCMarray is that there may be thermal transfer between adjacent memorycells (so-called “thermal disturb”). Accordingly, the memory state of amemory cell may be disturbed when an adjacent memory cell is programmed,which can lead to unreliability of data storage within a memory array.The problem can increase with increasing downsizing of integration.

It would be desirable to develop PCM cell architectures which alleviateor prevent the above-discussed problem, and to develop methods offorming such PCM cell architectures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1-5 are diagrammatic cross-sectional views of a construction atvarious process stages of an example embodiment method of forming memorycells.

FIGS. 6-8 are diagrammatic cross-sectional views of a construction atvarious process stages of another example embodiment method of formingmemory cells. The process stage of FIG. 6 may follow that of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 9 and 10 are diagrammatic cross-sectional views of a constructionat various process stages of another example embodiment method offorming memory cells. The process stage of FIG. 9 may follow that ofFIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS

Programming of a PCM cell may comprise heating of a chalcogenidematerial within the memory cell to cause a phase change within thechalcogenide material. Only a fraction of the total volume of thechalcogenide material within the cell may be heated. Some embodimentsinclude recognition that thermal disturbance between adjacent memorycells may be reduced by controlling the size of the heated fraction ofchalcogenide material within a memory cell during programming of thememory cell.

A PCM cell may comprise chalcogenide material between a heater and a topelectrode. The chalcogenide material may be heated with the heater tocause the desired phase change within the chalcogenide material duringprogramming. The size of the heated fraction of the chalcogenidematerial may be influenced by the overall thermal resistance along thechalcogenide material to the top electrode, including difference thermalresistance contributions. The difference thermal resistancecontributions may include: chalcogenide material thermal resistance, topelectrode thermal resistance, and interface thermal resistance betweenthe two materials.

Some embodiments include provision of an interlayer to reduce (and insome cases, minimize) interface thermal resistance. Such interlayer maybe referred to as a “thermal sink material.” The thermal sink materialis between chalcogenide material and a top electrode, and alters thermalresistance along an upper region of the chalcogenide material relativeto a conventional PCM cell. The utilization of such thermal sinkmaterial may alleviate or prevent thermal disturb between adjacent PCMcells during programming of a memory array.

Example embodiments are described with reference to FIGS. 1-10.

Referring to FIG. 1, a construction 10 comprises a pair of electricallyconductive interconnects 14 and 16 extending through a dielectricmaterial 12.

The dielectric material 12 may comprise any suitable composition orcombination of compositions; and in some embodiments may comprise,consist essentially of, or consist of one or more of silicon dioxide,silicon nitride, and any of various doped silicate glasses (forinstance, borophosphosilicate glass, phosphosilicate glass,fluorosilicate glass, etc.).

The interconnects 14 and 16 comprise electrically conductive material15. Such electrically conductive material may comprise any suitablecomposition or combination of compositions; and in some embodiments maycomprise, consist essentially of, or consist of tungsten.

The dielectric material 12, and interconnects 14 and 16, may besupported by a semiconductor base (not shown). Such base may comprisemonocrystalline silicon, and may be referred to as a semiconductorsubstrate, or as a portion of a semiconductor substrate. The terms“semiconductive substrate,” “semiconductor construction” and“semiconductor substrate” mean any construction comprisingsemiconductive material, including, but not limited to, bulksemiconductive materials such as a semiconductive wafer (either alone orin assemblies comprising other materials), and semiconductive materiallayers (either alone or in assemblies comprising other materials). Theterm “substrate” refers to any supporting structure, including, but notlimited to, the semiconductive substrates described above.

The interconnects 14 and 16 be representative of a large number ofinterconnects formed across a semiconductor base. Ultimately, eachinterconnect is connected to a memory cell of a memory array (withexample memory cells being shown in FIG. 5). The interconnects 14 and 16are diagrammatically illustrated to be electrically connected tocircuitry 18 and 20, respectively. Such circuitry may include controlcircuitry utilized for providing electrical input to individual memorycells during programming operations and during reading operations. Thecircuitry may also include access/sense lines (e.g., wordlines andbitlines) which electrically couple the memory cells to the controlcircuitry. In some embodiments, the illustrated interconnects 14 and 16may be coupled to a common access/sense line, and in other embodimentsthe interconnects may be coupled to separate access/sense lines.

A planarized surface 17 extends across materials 12 and 15. Suchplanarized surface may be formed with any suitable processing,including, for example, chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP).

Heater material 22 is formed across the interconnects 14 and 16. Theheater material is ultimately patterned into heater components of PCMcells (as described below with reference to FIG. 3), and may compriseany suitable composition or combination of compositions. In someembodiments, the heater material may comprise, consist essentially of,or consist of titanium and nitrogen. Such heater material may compriseTiN in some embodiments, where the chemical formula shows the componentsof the composition and is not utilized to indicate a specificstoichiometry. The heater material may be, for example, a TiN composite,doped TiN, etc. The heater material may be formed with any suitableprocessing, including, for example, one or more of atomic layerdeposition (ALD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and physical vapordeposition (PVD).

Chalcogenide material 24 is formed over the heater material. Thechalcogenide material may comprise any suitable composition. An examplechalcogenide material comprises, consists essentially of, or consists ofgermanium, antimony and tellurium, and may be referred to as GST. Insome embodiments, the chalcogenide material may correspond to Ge₂Sb₂Te₅.The chalcogenide material may be formed utilizing any suitableprocessing, including, for example, one or more of ALD, CVD and PVD. Thechalcogenide material may be utilized as memory material in PCM cells insome embodiments (with example PCM cells being shown in FIG. 5).

Referring to FIG. 2, thermal sink material 26 is formed over thechalcogenide material, and an electrically conductive capping material28 is formed over the thermal sink material. In some embodiments, thematerial 28 may be referred to as a top electrode material.

In some embodiments, the thermal sink material 26 comprises acomposition containing at least one element in common with thechalcogenide material 24 and at least one element in common with thecapping material 28.

In some example embodiments, the material 28 comprises, consistsessentially of, or consists of titanium (for instance, compriseselemental titanium or titanium nitride); the chalcogenide materialcomprises, consists essentially of, or consists of GST; and the thermalsink material comprises, consists essentially of, or consists oftitanium in combination with one or both of tellurium and antimony.

As another example, in some embodiments the material 28 comprises,consists essentially of, or consists of a combination of titanium,aluminum and nitrogen (for instance, may be described by the chemicalformula TiAlN, where such formula shows the components of thecomposition and is not utilized to indicate a specific stoichiometry);the chalcogenide material comprises, consists essentially of, orconsists of GST; and the thermal sink material comprises, consistsessentially of, or consists of one or both of titanium and aluminum incombination with one or both of tellurium and antimony.

As another example, in some embodiments the material 28 comprises,consists essentially of, or consists of tantalum (for instance,comprises elemental tantalum or tantalum nitride); the chalcogenidematerial comprises, consists essentially of, or consists of GST; and thethermal sink material comprises, consists essentially of, or consists oftantalum in combination with one or both of tellurium and antimony.

As another example, in some embodiments the material 28 comprises,consists essentially of, or consists of tungsten (for instance,comprises elemental tungsten or tungsten nitride); the chalcogenidematerial comprises, consists essentially of, or consists of GST; and thethermal sink material comprises, consists essentially of, or consists oftungsten in combination with one or both of tellurium and antimony.

The thermal sink material 26 may be formed with any suitable processing,and in some embodiments may be deposited utilizing one or more of ALD,CVD and PVD. In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the thermal sink material isdeposited directly onto the chalcogenide material 24.

The thermal sink material may improve thermal dissipation within amemory cell to alleviate or prevent the thermal disturb problemdiscussed above in the “background” section of this disclosure.

The thermal sink material may be formed to any suitable thickness. Insome embodiments, the thermal sink material may be kept very thin sothat it does not substantially alter programming characteristics of anindividual memory cell relative to an analogous memory cell lacking thethermal sink material. For instance, the thermal sink material may beformed to a thickness of less than or equal to about 5 nanometers; andin some embodiments may be formed to a thickness of from about 1nanometer to about 5 nanometers. Such thin regions of thermal sinkmaterial may be sufficient to alleviate or prevent the thermal disturbproblem, while having little impact on the programming characteristicsof an individual memory cell.

The electrically conductive capping material 28 may be formed with anysuitable processing, and in some embodiments may be deposited utilizingone or more of ALD, CVD and PVD. In the embodiment of FIG. 2, theelectrically conductive capping material 28 is formed directly on anupper surface of the thermal sink material 26.

Referring to FIG. 3, the materials 22, 24, 26 and 28 are patterned intomemory cells 30 and 32. The memory cell 30 is directly over andelectrically coupled with interconnect 14; and the memory cell 32 isdirectly over and electrically coupled with interconnect 16. Materials22, 24, 26 and 28 may be patterned with any suitable processing. Forinstance, a patterned mask (not shown) may be formed over material 28; apattern from such mask may be transferred into the underlying materials22, 24, 26 and 28 with one or more suitable etches; and then the maskmay be removed to leave the construction shown in FIG. 3. The patternedmask may comprise any suitable composition, such as, for example,photolithographically-patterned photoresist and/or one or more materialspatterned utilizing pitch-multiplication methodologies. The material 28may be considered to correspond to top electrodes of the memory cells insome embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 4, an electrically insulative liner 34 is formed alongand between the memory cells 30 and 32, and a dielectric material 36 isformed over the electrically insulative liner. The liner may compriseany suitable composition or combination of compositions, and in someembodiments may comprise, consist essentially of, or consist of siliconnitride. The dielectric material 36 may comprise any suitablecomposition or combination of compositions, and in some embodiments maycomprise, consist essentially of, or consist of silicon dioxide and/orany of various doped silicate glasses.

Referring to FIG. 5, electrically conductive structures 38 and 40 areformed over memory cells 30 and 32, respectively. The electricallyconductive structures may be lines that extend in and out of the pagerelative to the cross-sectional view of FIG. 5. In the shown embodiment,each of the electrically conductive structures comprises a conductivecore material 42 and a barrier material 44 along an outer periphery ofthe core material. In some embodiments, the core material may comprise,consist essentially of, or consist of copper; and the barrier materialmay be a barrier to copper migration. In such embodiments, the barriermaterial may comprise any suitable composition, and may, for example,comprise a ruthenium-containing material. In some embodiments, otherconductive materials besides the shown materials 42 and 44 may beutilized in conductive structures 38 and 40. If the conductive corematerial 42 does not comprise components which migrate, the barriermaterial 44 may be omitted.

The structures 38 and 40 are shown connected to circuitry 46 and 48,respectively. In some embodiments, structures 38 and 44 may correspondto access/sense lines, and the circuitry 46 and 48 may be utilized tocontrol electrical flow through such access/sense lines. The memorycells 30 and 32 may be representative of a large number of cells of aPCM array, and each memory cell of such array may be uniquely addressedthrough the combination of an access/sense line connected to theillustrated bottoms of the cells through conductive material 15, and anaccess/sense line connected to the illustrated tops of the cells throughelectrically conductive capping material 28.

The thermal sink material 26 can reduce heating within the memory cellsduring programming relative to heating which may otherwise occur in theabsence of such thermal sink material, and thus can alleviate or preventthermal disturb between the adjacent memory cells 30 and 32 relative tothe thermal disturb that may otherwise occur in the absence of thethermal sink material. The same applies for cells in the perpendiculardirections in the array (for instance, memory cells connected to thesame bitline in some embodiments). Accordingly, the incorporation of thethermal sink material 26 into memory cells 30 and 32 may beneficiallyalleviate or prevent the thermal disturb problem that may be associatedwith some conventional PCM arrays.

The utilization of thermal sink material 26 having components in commonwith both the chalcogenide material 24 and the electrically conductivecapping material 28 alleviates thermal mismatch that may otherwiseoccur. Specifically, one surface of the thermal sink material isdirectly against the chalcogenide material, and another surface of thethermal sink material is directly against the electrically conductivecapping material. The formulation of the thermal sink material to have acomponent in common with the chalcogenide material may alleviate orprevent thermal mismatch that may otherwise occur between the thermalsink material and the chalcogenide material (with “thermal mismatch”including, for example, substantially different coefficients of thermalexpansion that may lead to peeling or separation between the adjacentmaterials during changes in temperature). Similarly, the formulation ofthe thermal sink material to have a component in common with theelectrically conductive capping material may alleviate or preventthermal mismatch that may otherwise occur between the thermal sinkmaterial and such electrically conductive capping material.

The utilization of thermal sink material 26 having components in commonwith both the chalcogenide material 24 and the electrically conductivecapping material 28 may improve adhesion between the chalcogenidematerial and the capping material in some embodiments, and specificallymay improve adhesion as compared to structures lacking such thermal sinkmaterial.

The various materials of the memory cells 30 and 32 shown in FIG. 5 maycomprise any suitable thicknesses. For instance, material 22 may beformed to a thickness of at least about 30 nanometers, material 24 maybe formed to a thickness within a range of from about 30 nanometers toabout 50 nanometers, material 26 may be formed to a thickness within arange of from about 1 nanometer to about 5 nanometers, and material 28may be formed to a thickness within a range of from about 20 nanometersto about 50 nanometers.

The embodiment of FIGS. 1-5 forms thermal sinks within PCM cells bydepositing thermal sink material 26 directly onto chalcogenide material24. Such is one of many methods for forming thermal sinks within PCMcells. Another example embodiment method is described with reference toFIGS. 6-8.

Referring to FIG. 6, a construction 10 a is shown at a processing stagesubsequent to that of FIG. 1. The construction comprises a precursormaterial 50 formed directly on an upper surface of chalcogenide material24. The precursor material ultimately combines with a component from thechalcogenide material 24 and/or from the electrically conductive cappingmaterial 28 (shown in FIG. 7) to form a thermal sink comprisingcomponents in common with both the chalcogenide material and theelectrically conductive capping material. In some embodiments, theprecursor material 50 may comprise a component in common with thecapping material, and may be configured to react with the chalcogenidematerial 24 to form a thermal sink. For instance, in some embodimentsthe precursor material may comprise one or more of titanium, tantalum,tungsten and aluminum. The precursor material may be configured forreaction with the chalcogenide material by incorporating a leaving groupinto the precursor. For instance, the precursor may comprise ametallo-organic, a metal halide, etc.

Referring to FIG. 7, the electrically conductive capping material 28 isformed directly on the precursor material 50.

Referring to FIG. 8, construction 10 a is subjected to thermalprocessing which converts precursor material 50 (FIG. 7) into a thermalsink material 52 comprising a component in common with chalcogenidematerial 24 and a component in common with electrically conductivecapping material 28. The thermal processing may comprise, for example,heating of the precursor material 50 and the chalcogenide material 24 toa temperature of at least about 400° C. to induce reaction of theprecursor material with the chalcogenide material. For instance, in someembodiments the chalcogenide material may comprise GST, the precursormaterial may comprise titanium, and the thermal treatment may formtitanium telluride. As another example, in some embodiments thechalcogenide material may comprise GST, the precursor material maycomprise tungsten, and the thermal treatment may form tungstentelluride.

The above-described thermal treatment may be conducted before, duringand/or after formation of the electrically conductive capping material28 in various embodiments. For instance, the electrically conductivecapping material may be deposited under conditions having a high enoughtemperature to achieve the thermal treatment of the precursor materialand the chalcogenide material. Alternatively, the precursor material andthe chalcogenide material may be heated to the thermal treatmenttemperature prior to deposition of the electrically conductive cappingmaterial. In other embodiments, the precursor material and thechalcogenide material may be heated to the thermal treatment temperatureafter deposition of the electrically conductive capping material.

The construction 10 a of FIG. 8 may be subsequently subjected toprocessing analogous to that described above with reference to FIGS. 3-5to form an array of memory cells from such construction.

Another example embodiment method for forming a thermal sink within PCMcells is described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10.

Referring to FIG. 9, a construction 10 b is shown at a processing stagesubsequent to that of FIG. 1. The construction comprises theelectrically conductive capping material 28 formed directly on an uppersurface of chalcogenide material 24.

Referring to FIG. 10, one or more ions (i.e., dopants) are implantedthrough the electrically conductive capping material and to an interfaceof the capping material and the chalcogenide material. The ions causeintermixing across such interface to form a thermal sink 62 comprisingone or more components of the chalcogenide material in combination withone or more components of the capping material. For instance, in someembodiments the electrically conductive capping material comprisestitanium nitride; the chalcogenide material comprises GST; and thethermal sink comprises titanium telluride.

The construction 10 b of FIG. 10 may be subsequently subjected toprocessing analogous to that described above with reference to FIGS. 3-5to form an array of memory cells from such construction.

The embodiments described above show that the thermal sink material maybe formed between an electrically conductive capping material and achalcogenide material through any of numerous methods in variousembodiments; and may be formed before, during, and/or after formation ofthe electrically conductive capping material.

The memory cells and arrays discussed above may be incorporated intoelectronic systems. Such electronic systems may be used in, for example,memory modules, device drivers, power modules, communication modems,processor modules, and application-specific modules, and may includemultilayer, multichip modules. The electronic systems may be any of abroad range of systems, such as, for example, clocks, televisions, cellphones, personal computers, automobiles, industrial control systems,aircraft, etc.

The particular orientation of the various embodiments in the drawings isfor illustrative purposes only, and the embodiments may be rotatedrelative to the shown orientations in some applications. The descriptionprovided herein, and the claims that follow, pertain to any structuresthat have the described relationships between various features,regardless of whether the structures are in the particular orientationof the drawings, or are rotated relative to such orientation.

The cross-sectional views of the accompanying illustrations only showfeatures within the planes of the cross-sections, and do not showmaterials behind the planes of the cross-sections in order to simplifythe drawings.

When a structure is referred to above as being “on” or “against” anotherstructure, it can be directly on the other structure or interveningstructures may also be present. In contrast, when a structure isreferred to as being “directly on” or “directly against” anotherstructure, there are no intervening structures present. When a structureis referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another structure,it can be directly connected or coupled to the other structure, orintervening structures may be present. In contrast, when a structure isreferred to as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled” toanother structure, there are no intervening structures present.

Some embodiments include an integrated device comprising a chalcogenidematerial, a top electrode over the chalcogenide material, and aninterlayer between the top electrode and the chalcogenide material. Theinterlayer lowers thermal resistance in the device relative to thethermal resistance which would occur across a top electrode/chalcogenidematerial interface of the device in the absence of the interlayer.

Some embodiments include an integrated device comprising a chalcogenidematerial, an electrically conductive material over the chalcogenidematerial, and a thermal sink between the electrically conductivematerial and the chalcogenide material. The thermal sink is directlyagainst the conductive material and the chalcogenide material. Thethermal sink comprises a composition that includes an element in commonwith the electrically conductive material and includes an element incommon with the chalcogenide material.

Some embodiments include a memory cell comprising a heater material, achalcogenide material over the heater material, an electricallyconductive material over the chalcogenide material, and a thermal sinkbetween the electrically conductive material and the chalcogenidematerial. The thermal sink is directly against both the electricallyconductive material and the chalcogenide material. The thermal sinkcomprises a composition that includes an element in common with theelectrically conductive material and includes an element in common withthe chalcogenide material.

Some embodiments include a method of forming a memory cell. Chalcogenidematerial is formed over heater material. An electrically conductivematerial is formed over the chalcogenide material. A thermal sink isformed between the electrically conductive material and the chalcogenidematerial. The thermal sink is directly against the conductive materialand the chalcogenide material. The thermal sink comprises a compositionthat includes an element in common with the electrically conductivematerial and includes an element in common with the chalcogenidematerial.

In compliance with the statute, the subject matter disclosed herein hasbeen described in language more or less specific as to structural andmethodical features. It is to be understood, however, that the claimsare not limited to the specific features shown and described, since themeans herein disclosed comprise example embodiments. The claims are thusto be afforded full scope as literally worded, and to be appropriatelyinterpreted in accordance with the doctrine of equivalents.

1-16. (canceled)
 17. A method of forming a memory cell, comprising:forming chalcogenide material over heater material; forming anelectrically conductive material over the chalcogenide material; andforming a thermal sink between the electrically conductive material andthe chalcogenide material, the thermal sink being directly against theconductive material and the chalcogenide material; the thermal sinkcomprising a composition that includes an element in common with theelectrically conductive material and includes an element in common withthe chalcogenide material.
 18. The method of claim 17 wherein theforming of the thermal sink comprises: depositing a precursor materialdirectly onto the chalcogenide material; and thermally treating theprecursor material and the chalcogenide material to cause reactionbetween the precursor material and the chalcogenide material and therebyform the thermal sink.
 19. The method of claim 18 wherein: thechalcogenide material comprises germanium, antimony and tellurium; theprecursor material comprises titanium; and the thermal sink comprisestitanium and tellurium.
 20. The method of claim 19 wherein the thermaltreatment comprises heating the precursor material and the chalcogenidematerial to a temperature of at least about 400° C.
 21. The method ofclaim 18 wherein: the chalcogenide material comprises germanium,antimony and tellurium; the precursor material comprises tungsten; andthe thermal sink comprises tungsten and tellurium.
 22. The method ofclaim 17 wherein the thermal sink is formed before forming theelectrically conductive material.
 23. The method of claim 22 wherein theforming of the thermal sink comprises depositing thermal sink materialdirectly onto the chalcogenide material.
 24. The method of claim 17wherein the thermal sink is formed after forming the electricallyconductive material.
 25. The method of claim 24 wherein the forming ofthe thermal sink comprises: forming the electrically conductive materialdirectly against the chalcogenide material; and implanting one or moreions through the electrically conductive material to an interface of theelectrically conductive material with the chalcogenide material; saidimplanting causing intermixing of one or more components of thechalcogenide material with one or more components of the electricallyconductive material to thereby form the thermal sink.
 26. The method ofclaim 25 wherein: the electrically conductive material comprisestitanium nitride; the chalcogenide material comprises germanium,antimony and tellurium; and the thermal sink comprises titaniumtelluride.
 27. The method of claim 26 wherein the one or more ionsinclude one or more of germanium, arsenic and argon.
 28. A method offorming a memory cell, comprising: forming a stack comprising aninterlayer material between an antimony-containing chalcogenide materialand a conductive material; wherein the interlayer material is directlyagainst both the conductive material and the antimony-containingchalcogenide material; and wherein the interlayer material comprisesantimony together with an element in common with the electricallyconductive material.
 29. The method of claim 28 comprising forming theantimony-containing chalcogenide material adjacent a heater material.